SUPPLY CHAIN ARTICLES

  • Innovations In The Oligonucleotide Supply Chain: Regulatory Considerations For Materials, Manufacturing, And Lifecycle Control

    Oligonucleotide therapeutics have rapidly advanced into late-stage and commercial development, shifting regulatory focus toward the maturity of manufacturing and supply chain control rather than therapeutic novelty. Regulatory success now depends on how effectively sponsors translate innovative chemistries into well-characterized, scalable, and sustainable materials and processes.

  • Inside Alnylam's Playbook For High Volume siRNA Production

    As one of the first companies to establish a chemoenzymatic ligation platform, Alnylam's Maines and Nechev are in the perfect position to espouse wisdom on the practical aspects and remaining challenges of implementing enzymatic ligation at a large scale. Here in this installment, Maines and Nechev outline what they’ve learned thus far about the science of enzymatic ligation, while also paying credence to the unknowns and existing barriers that, as a frontrunner, Alnylam will inevitably (but willingly) be tasked with facing in the future.

  • Beyond The Gold Standard(s): Modernizing Oligonucleotide Synthesis

    A few weeks ago, I had the chance to sit down with OPT Congress speaker Phil Baran, Richard Lerner Chair Professor, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research. Baran was slated to (and did) present a keynote on the innovations shaping the next generation of oligo synthesis. Here, I share the biggest takeaways I had from our conversation, touching on how he sees the science of oligo chemistry and manufacturing advancing in the near and far future. 

  • Addressing Challenges In Serialization For Complex Therapeutics

    The magnitude of serialization, especially for firms with extensive portfolios and intricate supply chains, poses serious challenges. This discussion offers solutions.

  • The Cell-Free Revolution: Breaking The Plasmid DNA Bottleneck

    I was excited to be given the opportunity to sit down with Jodi Barrientos, CEO, Ribbon Bio, to learn more about the current state of the synthetic DNA space. In the following Q&A, Barrientos and I discuss some of the synthetic DNA industry’s biggest goals and the challenges that stand in the way of bringing synthetic plasmids more commonly into the mRNA development paradigm. 

  • Assessing Quality Of mRNA Vaccines: Key Considerations

    To address the need for standards for mRNA vaccines, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) has convened vaccine experts to identify important quality attributes and to propose test methods that can be used to assess mRNA vaccine products. This article shares those CQAs and analytical procedure tips.

SUPPLY CHAIN VIDEOS

We all know that plasmid quality is foundational in dictating the quality of the final mRNA drug substance. In this clip homing in on upstream process considerations, speakers Stu Sundseth (Tune Therapeutics), Marc Wolfgang (Sail Biomedicines), and Christian Dohmen (Ethris) outline some of the most important CQAs for plasmids and the impact they can have on the resulting quality of the mRNA drug substance for linear mRNA. 

There remain a lot of gaps in our understanding of plasmid quality, particularly for high-quality mRNA production (as opposed to viral vector production). In this segment of a recent Advancing RNA Live panel, speakers Adi Nair, Tyler Goodwin, and April Sena highlight their biggest questions around plasmid DNA quality, as well as the pros and cons of some of the analytical methods upon which we’re relying most heavily today to assess plasmid quality.

The oligo manufacturing paradigm is facing several different evolutions whether it be the transition to liquid-phase or hybrid synthesis. In this Advancing RNA Live clip, Camp4’s Satya Kuchimanchi explores how these manufacturing advancements are impacting our supply chain needs.

While we can make lots of mRNA at a smaller scale, when it comes to scaling up to kg quantities of mRNA, our current batch processes leave a lot to be desired. Together, Stu Sundseth of Tune Therapeutics and Christian Dohmen of Ethris unpack the biggest barriers to scaling IVT to achieve the desired yield and quality of mRNA, offering their take on how the field is innovating to overcome these issues. 

ARTICLES, APP NOTES, CASE STUDIES, & WHITE PAPERS